FLEA MARKET$

Making Money At Garage Sales

Setting Up

Selection and Pricing

Advertising

Bookkeeping

The Sale

SETTING UP

You've been everywhere and made your entire list. Now it's a question of preparing these goods for the sale.

Organization! Organization! Organization!

This is your key to a successful set-up for your garage sale. Items that are thrown together on a table aren't going to be as attractive to customers as those that are diligently laid out in a certain order.

Selection and Pricing

What items can be sold at the garage sale? Well… just about anything you can think of will be a candidate. Here's a list if you want to keep it to check against what you have. This list is certainly not complete, but should cover most of the items you might have.

Dining table Car parts Air conditioner Ice skates

Well, it's a start. You'll think of others as you look around; like that mirror or those bookends. Everyone's list is different and you may have items of great value that don't mean that much to you. Maybe it's an original work of art you can't stand or a 1928 edition of Oliver Twist that you've never read. Good items! If you're truly not going to use them, let someone else enjoy them!

ADVERTISING

Selection, pricing and layout is only as good as the number of people that come by to shop at your garage sale. To attract customers, you must get the word out. One sign at the top of your street will not bring in the folks who will do a lot of buying.

Proper sign design takes some time, so don't leave it for the morning of the sale. You should only be placing them around that day. Do your signs in the evenings leading up to the sale. It will be a busy week tagging items, setting up the tables, putting merchandise on them, and sign-making, but it will be worth the time and effort.

Bookkeeping

How do you know if you did well at your garage sale? Good records are a sure bet to value your efforts. Simply listing inventory, expenses and revenue will paint a picture of your financial success. This would also be critical if you are selling other people's merchandise in addition to your own. You'll have to track it separately. Label the price tags with different colors or other codes like prefixes (N- 25 cents) to properly identify the articles that belong to the various sellers.

The Sale

You're ready. You've made your selections, priced your goods, made your signs, advertised and the big day has arrived. Hopefully, you'll get a good day, weather-wise. Everything is on the prescribed tables. The layout is well thought out and designed to attract viewers-- and buyers!